The large-scale official investigation concerns not only Khmelnytsky’s prosecutors, but all prosecutorial bodies - all levels, including the Prosecutor General’s Office (PGO) - and is extremely important for the entire system, Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin said on the Fakty Nedeli (Facts of the Week) program on Sunday, October 20.

"Today it has been established that 61 prosecutors of Khmelnytsky region’s prosecutor's office have disabilities. These are Khmelnytsky region’s prosecutor's office and district prosecutor's offices of Khmelnytsky region. Meanwhile, 80% of them - 50 people - became disabled before the start of the full-scale invasion," the prosecutor general said.

According to Kostin, it is very important to establish under what circumstances they became disabled, because the share of such employees in Khmelnytsky region is very high. He also promised to inform the public about all stages and results of this check.

"I believe that all prosecutors who are in doubt should voluntarily undergo a re-examination. This has not yet been done in criminal proceedings. I have also initiated the creation of a working group that will include international experts. They will help to comprehensively assess the situation and develop solutions to prevent such abuses in the future," Kostin said.

He also expressed support for the Ministry of Health’s initiative to comprehensively reform the medical and social examination system.

"We are ready to join this initiative. It may be necessary to involve the entire government, as well as parliament. It is very important to ensure fairness, in particular in establishing payments that people receive in connection with disability - regardless of where this person works, and whether he actually works," Kostin said.

"The number of men who became disabled during the introduction of martial law is truly impressive," the Prosecutor General added.

As PGO reported on October 16, an internal investigation was launched in connection with the dissemination of information about 50 prosecutors of Khmelnytsky Regional Prosecutor's Office receiving disability groups. On October 17, the PGO reported that Oleksiy Oliynyk had been dismissed from the post of head of Khmelnytsky Regional Prosecutor's Office.